Knowledge-based ultrasound image enhancement
AssigneeSiemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
InventorsBimba Rao, Helene Houle, Bogdan Georgescu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Image enhancement is provided for medical diagnostic ultrasound. Knowledge-based detection of anatomy or artifact identifies locations to be enhanced. The knowledge-based detection of the locations may avoid identification of other anatomy or artifacts. The image enhancement is applied to the identified locations and not others.
Claims18
A method of image enhancement in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the method comprising:
- acquiring, by an ultrasound system, ultrasound image data from a scan of tissue of a patient, the ultrasound image data representing spatial locations of the tissue;
- applying, by a processor of the ultrasound system, a machine-learnt classifier to the ultrasound image data, the machine-learnt classifier having been trained with machine learning from a database of ground-truth annotated images, the machine-learnt classifier outputting locations of an imaging artifact of the ultrasound system in the ultrasound image data in response to input of the ultrasound image data to the machine-learnt classifier;
- altering the ultrasound image data for the locations of the imaging artifact differently than for other locations;
- and
- displaying an ultrasound image of the tissue of the patient from the altered ultrasound image data.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor for image enhancement in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the storage medium comprising instructions for:
- receiving, from an ultrasound scanner, detected ultrasound data representing a patient;
- classifying locations represented by the detected ultrasound data as representing an artifact or anatomy, the classifying being with a knowledge base;
- altering the detected ultrasound data as a function of the classification of the locations, the altering being an altering of amplitude of the ultrasound data for the artifact or anatomy differently relative to the amplitude of the ultrasound data for representing background, tissue, fluid and/or another object different than the classified artifact or anatomy while maintaining representation of all of the locations including representation of the background, tissue, fluid and/or the other object;
- and
- generating an image from the enhanced ultrasound data as altered.
A system for image enhancement in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the system comprising:
- a receive beamformer configured to acquire ultrasound data representing a region of a patient;
- a B-mode detector, Doppler estimator, or both configured to output detected data from the ultrasound data;
- a processor configured to extract input features from the detected data, identify an artifact from the detected data as a function of a knowledge base, and image process the detected data as a function of the artifact, the image process including processing the detected data for locations of the artifact differently than other locations;
- and
- a display configured to display an image of the region based on the image processed detected data, the image being an ultrasound image with the artifact reduced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.